Sound of Thunder

If a butterfly flaps it's wings in Detroit, does time change if you crush it?

Based on a novel (I read it in History of Sci-Fi class in High School) it is about a group that goes back in time for an expedition and comes back to a different world. I am very excited to see this adaptation.

The Prof is in...

http://www.penny-arcade.com/view.php?date=2005-08-24&res=l

Watching people playing with virtual dogs

Yesterday I posted sites about how I enjoy seeing people having fun with games. It's something I do... call me weird, it's me.

So today, in honor of my payday (and me affording to get the damn thing) here's a link to a little girl in Japan experiencing her first Nintendo DS and Nintendogs. In the first clip she and her mom names him 'Luke' (or 'Ruku' as she pronounces it). In the second she shows her grandfather and he teaches it a trick. The third has her playing with a frizbee... and needing more practice. Needless to say I really enjoyed watching the second clip.

I have also heard that DS has dropped in price to $129. This makes it very affordable and I am excited to meet other people with one.

The DS has wi-fi capabilities which makes it able to communicate with others... but if you leave the Nintendogs in 'sleep-mode' and just wander around, if someone else has a DS in 'sleep-mode' and you pass the DS will bark and your pupies will exchange gifts and/or unlock dogs you may not have yet. It's POKEMON all over!!!

And no worries Jen... I won't ignore our own REAL puppies because of this. Virtual dogs don't keep your toes warm in the middle of the night (grin). Then again... virtual dogs don't slobber all over you or shed either...

People watching

Sometimes I just like to people watch. Just to enjoy reactions to certain things. One of my favorite British shows on this subject is called "Trigger Happy TV". It's very similar to Candid Camera except that nobody (well... very few people) gets embarassed from being 'punked'. Trigger Happy TV just creates situations and observes people's reactions to the events. Like how people react to watching a guy in a snail costume SLOOOOWLY crossing the street... or watching two guys in big mascot dog costumes beating up a guy in a big mascot cat costume

Well, today I found an interesting site that recorded people's reactions to their first exposure to the new Nintendo DS handheld system (be sure to let them load). I got more excited just watching their reactions than anything else. I really liked #47, an Australlian doctor playing the Nintendogs game. #09 was fun because he's a business man, and #15 was just too cute because she was so introverted... you could tell this was interesting to her. And in #19 the grandfather eventually played it more than the little girl!

Which ones were your favorites?

Free entertainment.

I'm feeling better now, the world's done shaking

Went to a concert at the Colorado State Fair Sunday night with my wife. We had a BLAST! The concert was Collective Soul and they were really great. Easilly a top-3 concert.

As far as I know this was Jen's first REAL rock concert (Weird Al really doesn't count) and she rocked out! She really seemed to have a great time, and i'm really happy about that. Her happiness means a lot to me. She's got a secret that I have been DYING To let loose, but I won't until she gives me the ok, but it has made her VERY happy and that's great.

MORTOR!!!

Thanks to Collin for this hillarious animated Gif.

Click HERE to get the image.

Dante was right?

Second Level of Hell

You have come to a place mute of all light, where the wind bellows as the sea does in a tempest. This is the realm where the lustful spend eternity. Here, sinners are blown around endlessly by the unforgiving winds of unquenchable desire as punishment for their transgressions. The infernal hurricane that never rests hurtles the spirits onward in its rapine, whirling them round, and smiting, it molests them. You have betrayed reason at the behest of your appetite for pleasure, and so here you are doomed to remain. Cleopatra and Helen of Troy are two that share in your fate.


And so, when I die, I will have sex with Cleopatra and Helen of Troy? AWESOME!!!

The Dante's Inferno Test has banished you to the Second Level of Hell!
Here is how you matched up against all the levels:

Level	Score
Purgatory (Repenting Believers)	Very Low
Level 1 - Limbo (Virtuous Non-Believers)	Low
Level 2 (Lustful)	Very High
Level 3 (Gluttonous)	Low
Level 4 (Prodigal and Avaricious)	Low
Level 5 (Wrathful and Gloomy)	High
Level 6 - The City of Dis (Heretics)	Moderate
Level 7 (Violent)	Very High
Level 8- the Malebolge (Fraudulent, Malicious, Panderers)	Very High
Level 9 - Cocytus (Treacherous)	Low

Take the Dante's Inferno Test

My japanese name is 藤原 Fujiwara (wisteria fields) 誠 Makoto (sincerity).
Take your real japanese name generator! today!
Created with Rum and Monkey's Name Generator Generator.

My Superhero Name is The Amazing Vengeance.
Take The Superhero Name Generator today!
Created with Rum and Monkey's Name Generator Generator.

Thanks to Grace for the tests...

Kiss kiss

I loves my Dragon Quest collection. Go to the links below and vote for me.

Kiss Kiss

Dragon Quest VIII

Dragons Quest will be coming out soon. VERY exciting.

Dragon Quest VIII Official US Site

Become part of the Slime Knights and earn swag!

Well, the next better thing

I had a dream last night.

I had a dream that I had a webcast for the Jojo community to get news and to ask questions of Jojo and VIZ comics (the official translators of the book series).

I'm making that come true.

I just emailed the editor of Jojo at VIZ and he sent me the address of the person i'm to contact. I sent the following email:

To whom it may concern,

I am the webmaster of a popular North American Jojo's Bizarre Adventure fansite called 'jojopedia.com'. I have been online since April 2001 previously at 'Geocities' and, by the time of my URL registration of 'jojopedia.com' on August 1st, I had over 39,000 visitors in that time with an average of 17 visitors daily with parts of the site translated into Italian by some fans of its own. Now with the notice of an official translation of Jojo's Bizarre Adventure by your company VIZ Comics, my website has been getting on average 110 hits per day from people all over the world and I have received over 5,000 hits since my move on August 1st of this year. I am an active member in the online Jojo community and have been reading Jojo's Bizarre Adventure in its original Japanese since 1989.

I am adding to my website a 'Jojo Webcast' which will be a webcast for and about the Jojo's Bizarre Adventure community as a whole. In this I would be talking about things that are coming up in the US, Japan, Italy, and France (where Jojo is the most popular), interviews with webmasters, translators for fansites, and hopefully with some people at VIZ. I received your email address from a gentleman whom I believe is the editor of Jojo's Bizarre Adventure whom then instructed me to make my formal request to you. I hope this is acceptable.

I am writing to ask permission to interview one (or more) of the fine people working at VIZ Comics on the Jojo's Bizarre Adventure story, either translator, editor, or someone involved in the production of the manga. People in the community are 'chomping at the bit', as it were, for the book to come out in English and I thought that an interview with someone 'in the know' would be a great way to let the fans know a bit about some behind the scenes facts at VIZ and how Hirohiko Araki has influenced this translation as a whole.

For the interview I would send the exact questions I would ask in the interview via email and, if at all possible, I would like to have the interviewee send their answers back in '.wav' form for the webcast. I would then record the questions being asked myself and piece the interview together to make it sound as though we were having a conversation. If necessary, to make sure the broadcast interview is acceptable to you, I would send you the completed broadcast first and not make it available to the public until I receive your ok. This webcast would then be a free download at my website at 'jojopedia.com'. If you have optional ideas I would be more than happy to hear about them.

I thank you for your time and hope that we can work something out. I am very excited that VIZ is the company translating Jojo and hope to hear from you soon.

Sincerely,
Justin S. Carmical
http://www.jojopedia.com

She's out of the office this afternoon, but hopefully she will reply by the end of next week.

C.H.E.E.T.

I know it has been months and months since the last CHEET night but I am finally ready to host another night of games food and friendship.

The magic date is: Saturday September 24th at 6:30pm-midnight. The theme will be, appropriately, 'New Beginnings'. This theme denotes something that was fun once upon a time, went away/disappeared for a while and then you found it and enjoyed it all over either in a new release or the old way it was. The 'Retro-High-Score' game of that night will therefore be Super Mario Brothers 3 (the game that made Mario popular again and stays fun even 16 years after it originally came out). The high score winner in this game will, as always, win a game trinket from 'the vault' (or whatever I happen to pick-up at Hot Topic that day).

Bring your controllers and any games you wish to share. We will start off with a rousing Party Game to get everyone playing together and then we can play other things as the members wish. Pizza will be ordered at 7:30. Bring your dollars and beverages of your choice. Adult beverages are always welcome.

I am planning a December CHEET meeting that will be for kids as well as adults. A White Elephant gift exchange will be the event of the evening and 'kids' games will be the theme... i.e. no blood and gore or naughty violence allowed. I will post many more reminders as both dates draw nearer... and, as is typical, the dates may change up to two weeks before.

Also, good news: The museum has officially reached 25 different game systems/handhelds and 402 different games! We'll have plenty for you to do that night... trust me.

Hope to see you all there this September and, in the immortal words of Tom Beaudette: "We'll keep the NES on for you."

owowowowOWOWOWOW! OW!!!

Sorry for the lack of posting, folks... but I have had NASTY migraines all week at work and they have RUINED my week, lemme tell you. OW!

I will be taking some pictures this weekend. I'll post them when I get them. Hope y'all enjoy.

Great weekend...

Many many things to cover today, my friends.

My weekend was great. I got to play poker with some friends ($5.00 got you $2,000 worth of chips) on Saturday and got to sing a bit of karaoke.

Jen and I saw 'SKY HIGH' on Saturday afternoon and really enjoyed it. She also told me that the kids were contracted for a possible TV series as well. AND the trailer had a teaser for the new Harry Potter movie due out in November. GAH! I WANNA SEE IT!!!

I also rented a really great Chinese movie called 'Six Strong Guys'. It's a bit of a chick-flick, but... well, for guys. I really enjoyed it. It starts off with 4 friends who decide to throw themselves off of a building because of their 'terrible' lives, and they end up embracing life instead. Very good movie. I'm looking to buy it.

And Jojopedia.com strted up with rave reviews. On Monday I got over 500 hits.

I am anticipating a new Japanese Nintendo DS game that features Jotaro (Jojo #3) and Dio as characters. It's called "Jump Superstars". I pre-ordered it last month (as soon as I heard about it) and it is almost time for it to ship (ships on August 8th). Cannot wait.

******************

Now, for a bit of a rant. My mom emails me today and asks me if I could help her instal some webcams so she can watch her cat 'Petey'. Now, Pete has been real ill for quite some time, and this weekend she had a pretty bad scare.

It is my opinion that it is one of her other cats (Itzy) who is causing all this stress on poor Pete. Itzy is a mean cat that was once friendly. When my grandfather died Itzy (his cat) got nasty. My mom keeps him because he was Papa's cat.

So, I told her my thoughts on the subject:
***
Well, for the bad news: it is very expensive. You need a working computer, a web cam, broadband service (~$50 a month) and you need to make sure he's going to be in one spot (room) the entire time. To webcam the whole house would require more cameras and is a bad idea unless you plan on making money off of this yourself (an' I don't want people paying money to see my mom... GOT IT?!?! (little joke) ).

I know how much you love him, but mean Maggie and mean Itzy have screwed with him enough that he's really messed up mentally and he is drained. Him being so sick doesn't help. I can give you suggestions on what you need to do:

Step one: Itzy needs to go. Period. Find him a good family through PetsMart and he'll be ok, but since dad died Itzy has been a terror. He's a good 1 pet animal but he has screwed with Maggie and Pete enough. For 'Pete's sake' please find Itzy a new home. I was sent to Mamie & Papa's when I had problems because you couldn't deal with my problems and yours... and i'm better. You need to do the same for this, and it's the same thing. Saving him because he was dad's is NOT a good excuse for keeping a mean creature. I'm not kidding and i'm not sorry. He's not sweet, he's mean. He was nice to dad and he was nice to you AT FIRST... he then saw what a 'mark' you are and took control of the place.

Step two: Kennel Pete when you're out. He likes being out, but being bullied by Itzy is NOT helping him get healthy. Pete needs to be secure where he can't get hurt by a fight. If you're too concerned about him then you need to kennel him while you're out. If you don't like that idea then you should just keep on going as you have been.

Step three: Just keep what you're doing, but if he looks like he's in pain... you need to stop that pain. Euthenasia is legal for pets (not humans) who are in pain. Talk to your vet, but keeping him alive, just because you love him, is a mean thing to do.

I love you, but you may need to let go of some things. And being the 'cat lady' doesn't help your pocket-book or your love life, hun. (little jokey-poo). A webcam is not the best idea right now. You need to look out for you. And right now this isn't helping matters.

Love you MUCH more than you love me... call me if you need to talk tonight.
Jus
***
For me, I love my pups and think of them as family... but they are not humans and if one of them is hurting the other and I can't stop the behavior... they're out! Period! End of story!

"But would you do that to your own kids?" Some people may ask...

YES! Yes I would. If I could not handle them and, try as I may, I could not get them to behave... yes. They're gone! Send them to someone who can help them... because I can't.

Harsh? Perhaps.
Realistic? You bet. I know my limitations. If they are met and nothing is getting done... then off they go. Bye bye. Bye bye. Bye bye.

I am absolutely TERRIFIED of having children. Terrified. I roll the thought of having a vasectomy 'tomorrow' constantly... every day. "Oh, it's different when you have your own". No. No it's not. I would be a terrible father. Absolutely terrible. Why have children? No, really... why? To pass on a name? To make life just to make life? To please family? These are terrible reasons to have children. Why can't two people enjoy each other without having kids?

JEEZUS did I digress just now or what?! I'm so sorry.

Reactions? Am I a jerk? Feel the same as me? Anyone?